Possessive Determiners
Work with a partner. Look at the photo of some children from a village in India. What is special about them?
Read the article below and check your ideas.
Twin Village
Kodinhi is a small village in Kerala in south India. It's a typical village, but its people are not typical. Two thousand families live here and 290 families have twins. In India seven babies in 1,000 are twins, but in Kodinhi, forty-five babies in 1,000 are twins.
Mohammed Rāshin's family is from Kodinhi. He and his wife have seven boys. Four of their sons are twins. Mohammed says, 'My wife and I are very happy with our family. Everyone in the village is happy.'
But why are there so many twins in Kodinhi? How is it possible? No one really has an answer, but the village doctor says it isn't genetic; he thinks it's something in the water or the food.
genetic – things that come from your parents, like blue eyes or brown hair
Work with a partner and answer the questions:
- Why are the people in Kodinhi not typical?
- Are people in Kodinhi happy to have twins?
- Why are there a lot of twins in Kodinhi?
Work in small groups. Answer the questions:
- Do you have twins in your family? Are any of your friends twins?
- Is it good or bad to be a twin? Why?
Personal Pronouns & Possessive Determiners
Grammar Focus – Personal Pronouns and Possessive Determiners
Task 5: Look at the highlighted words in the article and complete the table.
| Personal Pronoun | Possessive Determiner |
|---|---|
| I | |
| you | your |
| he | |
| she | her |
| it | |
| we | |
| they |
Exercise 6a – Underline the correct option
Exercise 7 – Complete the sentences using the words in the box
Family
Work with a partner. Make a list of all the family members you can think of.
father, wife, …
Exercise 9a – Match each male word to its female equivalent
Exercise 9c – Choose the correct word
Work with a partner. Talk about three people in your family.
"My brother is married to Marianna. She's a teacher."
Possessive 's
Exercise 11 – The Family Tree
Zafar and his wife have two children: a 1 , Hasan, and 2 twin brother, Tariq. Tariq is 3 to Rafina. Sahala is Tariq and Rafina's 4 daughter. 5 three years old.
Grammar Focus – Possessive 's
We use the possessive 's to show that something belongs to someone.
Rafina is Sahala's mother. (= Rafina is her mother)
Her husband's name is Tariq. (= His name is Tariq)
Hasan is Zafar and Rashida's son. (= Hasan is their son)
Note: 's is also a contraction of is.
My name's Marta. (= My name is Marta.)
It's a Spanish name. (= It is a Spanish name.)
Exercise 12 – Complete the sentences using possessive 's
Is the pronunciation of the highlighted words the same (S) or different (D)?
Talk About Your Family
Draw your family tree or invent one.
Use the space below to sketch your family tree, or describe it in writing.
Work with a partner. Take turns to describe the people in your family tree and ask questions about your partner's family.
A: My uncle's name is Lester. He is my mother's brother.
B: How old is he?
Quick Reference – Possessive Determiners
| Pronoun | Possessive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | my | My brother is a teacher. |
| you | your | Your family is big. |
| he | his | His wife is from India. |
| she | her | Her friend has twins. |
| it | its | Its people are typical. |
| we | our | Our family is happy. |
| they | their | Their sons are twins. |